Fargo, N.D. - A Phelps Golf Design project that might become one of the top teaching and practice facilities in the country is on schedule to open next spring.
“We could probably play several of the fairways right now,” said Roger Gress, executive director of the city’s Parks and Recreation District, which hired Phelps to design the 12-hole Osgood Golf Course and practice facility. “But our plan is to let the course mature and open for play June 1.”
Course builder Landscapes Unlimited finished construction in late summer. The course will be allowed to grow-in throughout the next six months, according to Phelps’ lead architect, Kevin Atkinson. The executive-length facility will include:
• A nine-hole, links-style layout routed into distinct, three-hole loops that bring golfers back to the clubhouse on every third hole, allowing them to play three, six- or nine-hole rounds.
• A three-hole practice loop with two par-3s and a par-4 that replicates 150-yard approaches, tee shots over water, sand shots out of fairway and green-side bunkers. Atkinson also added eight teeing grounds around the practice holes, allowing golfers to simulate anything from a 60-yard par-3 to a 515-yard par-5.
• A separate practice range with bentgrass target greens and sand bunkers. The range is designed so it can also be used as a six-hole chip-and-putt course. When the driving range is being used as a chip-and-putt course, the three-hole practice loop can be converted into an alternate driving range.
“The style is unique to the Fargo/Moorhead area,” Atkinson says. “We took a basically flat piece of ground and, in some areas, created 25- to 30-foot fills. It has a linksy appearance with rugged bunker edges. The fairways are generous, although they look tougher from the tee. Some of the fairways are 250-feet wide, which is probably 2.5 times wider than the average fairway, even though they don’t look that open due to the horizon lines, native grasses and wild shapings.
“The flexibility of this facility might be unsurpassed in the country. You could make up 15 different golf holes on the three-hole practice loop because there are so many different tees within the three-hole pod. The pro has the flexibility to take as many as 50 kids out there and use the entire practice loop as the ultimate teaching academy.”
The original plan was to open the course this fall. But heavy rains and windstorms slowed construction. Water-laden, subsurface soils, which Atkinson described as having the consistency of oatmeal, also forced the regrading of several holes. But Atkinson was able to work with the contractor and park district to overcome these and other challenges.
“We took a flat piece of ground and designed it so that, while playing many holes, you can barely see anyone else on the course,” said construction superintendent Mark Lindberg. “The three-hole practice loop and driving range are huge. We were really lacking a facility like that in the park district. And the whole project should be relatively easy to maintain.”
While young golfers are expected to be major users of the new facility, Gress expects adult golfers will also embrace Osgood.
“We need quality courses like this that can be played in an hour and 45 minutes to two hours and 15 minutes,” he said. “People are busy today. We have enough 18-hole courses in the area. We need more effective nine-hole layouts for those with limited free time.”
The course cost is estimated to be $1.7 million. Residential developer Kevin Christianson donated the land for the facility. Greens fees are expected to be $10 to $14.
Grow-in superintendent Victor Heitkamp will remain as maintenance superintendent once Osgood opens.
